Unlawful Removal Of Christmas Bonus For Disabled People

Department for Work and Pensions did not have the information requested.

Dear Department for Work and Pensions,

How many Benefit Claimants (including but not limited to Incapacity Benefit/ESA and Disability Living Allowance/PIP had their Annual Christmas Bonus adjusted by The Department For Work and Pensions from £10 to £0.00 in the following finanical years
2010/11, 2011/12, 2012/13, 2013/14 and 2014/15. How many of these from the Birkenhead Benefits office?

How many instances in each of the years mentioned did DWP proactively make good The Christmas Bonus as a result of this alteration? How many of these were from the Birkenhead Benefits office?

How many Benefit Claimants have had their Bonus Payments repaid? How many of these from the Birkenhead Benefits office?

How many Benefit Claimants received compensation/ex gratia payments for having their Christmas Bonus altered? How many of these from the Birkenhead Benefits office?

How many complaints were received over the alteration of these Christmas Bonus Payments in each of the years mentioned? How many of these from the Birkenhead Benefits office?

Which person(s) authorised the alteration of the Christmas Bonus to read £0.00?

How many employees of Department for Work and Pensions have been subjected to Disciplinary action over the alteration of the Christmas Bonus to read £0.00 and How many of these from the Birkenhead Benefits office?

How many Benefit Offices were involved in altering the Christmas Bonus to read £0.00, which is effectively an illegal benefit sanction which does not corerspond with any legistration, and which Benefit Offices were involved in altering the Christmas Bonus?

Yours faithfully,

Mr J Martin

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Dear DWP freedom-of-information-requests,

The DWP have knowingly violated the Freedom Of Information Act by failing to provide the detailed response as is required by law. The DWP should have responded promptly, fully and by 4 September 2014.

An immediate internal review is now required.

Yours sincerely,

Mr J Martin

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Operations FOI Requests, Department for Work and Pensions

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Please find attached our response to your Freedom of Information request.
 
Freedom of Information Team
 
 
 
 

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Dear Operations FOI Requests,

Your response does not form a proper reply. This is typical of the dishonesty of the Department For Work and Pensions.

I have in front of me a letter from DWP which admits wrongdoing withregards to the unlawful removal of the Christmas bonus together with an instruction to DWP Birkenhead to correct the wrong doing. They failed to do so.

By further providing false and misleading information, this further perverts the course of justice and will be used in evidence against DWP in legal proceedings.

Your reply, together with the inscincere aplogy for it's delay, is rejected in its entirity.

I previously instructed DWP to provide an internal review and reiterate this demand be undertaken at once.

I will be contacting the Information Commissioner in due course with regards to legal action being taken against DWP.

Yours sincerely,

Mr J Martin

Operations FOI Requests, Department for Work and Pensions

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Operations FOI Requests, Department for Work and Pensions

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Dear Mr Martin
 
 
Please find attached our response to your recent Freedom of Information
request.
 
 
 
Yours sincerely
 
DWP Central Freedom of Information Team
 
 
 
 

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Mr J Martin left an annotation ()

More lies from DWP who have repeated violated The Act.

Dear Operations FOI Requests,

Your persistant dishonesty is typical of the fraud and dishonesty committed by DWP. The result of the internal review is rejected.

You have NOT provided any of the information asked for as you are well aware.

A formal complaint will now be raised with The Information Commissioner regarding your unlawful conduct.

Legal action with a claim for punitive damages will be brought against DWP for violating FOI laws in addition to the illegal removal of the Christmas Bonus.

Yours sincerely,

Mr J Martin

Operations FOI Requests, Department for Work and Pensions

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craig left an annotation ()

They are delebratly colluding with capita to hide evidence towards peoples P.i.P claims..ignoring medical evidence provided and not awarding discriptor points entitled. They are turning down claims for no reason .they are liers.crooks.and should be investigated for not keeping to legislation and guide lines.nobody is doing a thing about it.they are putting disabled people in poverty and restricting their movement by not granting mobility to people who need it.capita are supplying misleading false reports with lies and are able to over ride drs reports and medical history .they are not properly recording how an illness effects somebody and the assessors are not qualified to do these reports as nor are the dwp desicion makers..its one big scam. Lies deciet and inproper evaluations or any recourse to challenge them. They blatantly ignore everything you provided..they should be taken to court ..

craig left an annotation ()

They are delebratly colluding with capita to hide evidence towards peoples P.i.P claims..ignoring medical evidence provided and not awarding discriptor points entitled. They are turning down claims for no reason .they are liers.crooks.and should be investigated for not keeping to legislation and guide lines.nobody is doing a thing about it.they are putting disabled people in poverty and restricting their movement by not granting mobility to people who need it.capita are supplying misleading false reports with lies and are able to over ride drs reports and medical history .they are not properly recording how an illness effects somebody and the assessors are not qualified to do these reports as nor are the dwp desicion makers..its one big scam. Lies deciet and inproper evaluations or any recourse to challenge them. They blatantly ignore everything you provided..they should be take to court ..

JayneL left an annotation ()

Craig, my experience (personally and when supporting others) is similar to that you describe; it certainly seems that PIP is deliberately being mishandled by DWP decision makers, including Mandatory Reconsiderations

Ablemate left an annotation ()

I moderate for benefitsand work.co.uk and a poster recently said that the DWP stated that there was so much evidence submitted with the claim that the assessor could not be expcted to read it all.
The evidence was medical submissions to support a claim for benefit. A face to face assessment at a centre miles away was made despite evdence supporting a home assessment. Helpline refused to change it to a home assessment.